Coating apparatus.



F. A. ROBINSON.

COATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.22.1916.

Patented Mar. 4,1919.

2 SHEETS-SH'EET l.

. vwewfoz (0) MM m) 351 ('1 *ozmms F. A. ROBINSON.

COATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.22.1916.

1 ,296,0 1 U Patented Mar. 4, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

wvewfoz 35 .3% (in Macias .1 1 ALEXANDER ROBINSON, OF AUBURN, NEW YORK, ASSIGN'OR 'IO STANFORD HON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COATING- .t

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 4%, 19119..

a lication filed a rii ea, mic. Serial No. eaaaa.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK A. ROBINSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Auburn, county of Cayuga. State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coating Apparatus, of

' which the following isva specification.

This invention relates to coating apparatus' More specifically, this invention relates to apparatus for coating wire or material of relatively very great length. The preferred specific forms of my invention comprise a plurality of sectional tanks usually arranged as sets, and adapted to be disposed in relation to one another to form as great a number of sets as may be desired to efi'ect the desired degree of coating. In such preferred forms of my invention. each sectional bath or tank comprises a forwardly and upwardly protruding portion, a lower and main body portion and more or less rearwardly disposed upper terminal portions. The number of wires desired to be treated simultaneously may be of any number; it is convenient to arrange for the simultaneous treatment of say five distinct wires and in such case the lowing description and live wires enter the sectional bath or tank through said forward and upwardly protruding portion, thence such wires pass through said main body portion and leave the sectional bath or tank through individual terminal portions. After the wire has passed through its terminal portion, it is then treated in a suitable heater or baking device and thence properly cooled and wound upon a reel, or passed through one or as may be' more sectional baths or tanks, desired.

Further obji'ects and features of my invention will be fully understood from the folaccompanying drawings. in which- Figure 1 is a vertical elevation, partly in section, showing a plurality of sets of sectional baths or tanks and a heater, the same embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of Fig. 1 as viewed in the direction of the arrow 2;

Fig. 3 is a detail horizontal sectional view of the heater of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is adetail view of a shutter, for the openings of the heater.

Referring to the drawings, the wire or strand 1 is shown passing over the idler 2 either from a preceding treating or coating apparatus or from a reel. The number of wires or strands l is five in the illustration, although any number may be selected.

The wire or strand 1 enters the coating tank or bath 3 at the forward and upwardly protruding portion 4, thence passes downwardly into the main body portion 5 under the main sheave 6, and thence upwardly through the terminal portion 7. The auxiliary sheaves 8, 9 are arranged in suitable relation to the main sheave 6 to effect the removal of bends or\other irregularities of the wire. When wire or strand 1 thus asses through the treating bath or tank 3 out of the extreme right hand terminal portion 7, the second wire passes through the next adjacent terminal portion 10; the third wire thus passes throu h the central terminal portion 11, and, similarly, the fourth and fifth passes through the respective terminal portions 12, 13. In such arrangement, the main sheave 6 may be provided with 5 individual grooves respectively receivin the five wires or strands 1. Similarly, t e main sheave 14 may be provided with four grooves to respectively receive four wires or strands; similarly, the main sheaves 15, 16, 17 will be respectively provided with three, two and one groove for the respective numbers of wires passing thereover.

The coating substance forming the bath 20 may be supplied through the forward bath portion 4, as by means of the supply tank 21, having the regulating cook 22. The bath 20 flows out ofthe respective terminal portions 7, 10, 11, 12 and 13 into the drain 23. andthence into the collecting tank 24.

'If diesired, the bath 20 may be heated, as

for exampleby means of the heater 25,

shown as an'electrical heating resistance,

'and'by. means of'the heater 26, shown as an and outlet ports 37 strands 1 exit, and idlers 38, and onto the sheaves 39.

Preferably, the heating apparatus is mounted on legs 33, extending at the sides of the sets of coating tanks, with which it is associated. The heating is shown efiected electrically, as by means of the support rods 40, having disks 41 of insulating material spaced thereon, and provided with openings through which pass the heating wires 42, preferably four in number. The heating will be effected by employing any one of the four heating wires, and in the event of breakage or need of repair, the current will be switched onto another wire, thus allowing three wires for emergencies. This featureis important in view of the great values involved in coating a large number of wires or strands simultaneously. The length of each electric heating wire will be determined by its heating resistance and the desired temperature of the heating chamber 35.

In Fig. 4, I have also shown a convenient form of shutter for controlling-the outlet ports 37, formed of the hinged shutter halves 43, 43 having corresponding cutaway portions 44, 44. The extent of opening is regulated manually by operating the fingers 45, 45. Said shutter may also be applied to the inlet ports 36, if desired.

The heating chamber 35 may be arranged in any desired relation to the coating tank or bath 3. The number of heater rods 40 in relation to' the wires or strands 1 may be selected, according to the conditions determined by the operator. The tap affords removal of sediment or impurities.

As shown, the heating in the heating.

chamber is effected preferably by one. or more heating wires arranged substantially parallel to the path of travel of the coated wire desired to be heat-treated thereby Preferably also, the direction of the path of travel of the coated wire is vertical, to

thereby attain the maximum degree of uniformity of thickness of the coating eventually afiixed to the wire. The parallel alinement of the heating wire, relative to the heated wire results in afield of substantlally constant heating effect, modified .as desired by the degree of opening of the shutters in the inlet and outlet ports of the heating chamber. I have found in practice that the so-called beading is caused by the heretofore proposed spirally arranged heating w1res, due to the creation thereby of a series of localized heating fields hav- 1ng pomts of maxima and minima heat intens1t1es, causing a flow of the coating at each maximum point and a cooling at each minimum point. This disadvantage of heading is entirely eliminated by my presentinvention.

The sectional form of bath or tank is adthrough which wires or thence pass over the vantageous in minimizing the amount of coating material, in replacing or adding any sectional bath or tank, and in positioning and grouping the sectional tanks to form each set. Thus, for example,-the sectional tanks 3, 30, 31,32, are held in desired position by the horizontal straps 45, supplemented if desired by one or more diagonal straps 46.

The drain 47 is, provided for drawing ofi' the coating material directly from the bottom of the tank 3.

If desired, the forward coating tank 3 may be provided with sheaves 48, to separate the respective wires or strands 1. r

Other changes and modifications may be made in the specific described above, without departing from'my invention.

I claim:

1. The combination of a tank for coating a plurality of wires, comprising a body portion of a great length as compared to its width, an upwardly directed inlet portion, a plurality of outlet portions and means for guiding strands of wire into said inlet portion and respectively through said outlet portions. 2. The combination of a tank for coating a plurality of wires, comprising a body portion of a great length-as compared to its width, an upwardly directed inlet portion, a plurality of vertically extending outlet portions and means for guiding strands of wire into said inlet portion and respectively through said outlet portions.

3. The combination of a plurality of tanks disposed side by side, each tank having a relatively long body portion, an upwardly extending inlet portion, upwardly extending outlet portions, means for gu ding wires through said tanks and respect1vely through said outlet portions and means for guiding wires in groups into said inlet portions and the individual wires of said group respectively through said outlet portions.

4. The combination of a tank for coating a plurality of wires, said tank having a forwardportlon, a main body portion and a plurality of terminal portions, means for ward portion and. respectively out of said terminal portions and means for circulating a coating fluid through said tank, said lastnamed means comprising outlets for the coating fluid respectively at said terminal portions.

5. The combination of a plurality of tanks each tank comprising a relatively long body portion, an upwardly extending inlet portion and upwardly extending outlet portions and means for positioning said tanks side by side one to another.

6. The combination of a plurality of tanks,

portion 4 of the guiding the individual wires into said fOri outlets,

' respectively naeaoio each tank comprising'a body portion and upwardly extendingou-tlet portion s, means for guiding wires through said tanks and through said outlet portions and a common heater for said wires disposed vertically above said outlet portions.

7. The combination of a heating chamber having inlets and outlets for a plurality of wires, heating units disposed equi-distant from lines passing through the central points of. corresponding inlets and each said heating units comprising a plurality of heating wires and means for connecting any said wires to a source of,

energy. v

8. The combination of a plurality of tanks, adapted to contain a COS/15mg fluid, each tank comprising verticallyextendiug g'utlet portions and a common heater for the wires disposed vertically above said outlet portions and having inlet openings corresponding retially parallel to the substantially spectively to said outlet portions and heat- 1ng units disposed substantially equidistant from the coated wires passing therethrough and having heating wires extending substancoated wires.

9. The combination of a tank for coating a plurality of wires, said tank having a plu rality of upwardly extending outlets, means for guiding an individual wire disposedin each of saidoutlets, a heating chamber com municating in common withsaid plurality of outlets, means for individually guiding said wires through said heating chamber, and a plurality of spaced hea-tin means d1sposed in substantially equally eective relation to the respective paths of travel of the 7 wires in said heating chamber.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification.

r ALEXANDER common.- 

